Lawmakers advance $65 million for residential behavioral health capacity amid calls for accountability

The Ways and Means Human Services Subcommittee on June 17 recommended House Bill 2059, which would appropriate $65 million one‑time general fund to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to establish a residential behavioral health capacity program. The program funds facilities for withdrawal management, residential treatment and psychiatric inpatient care; the subcommittee recommended the dash-4 amendment and reported the bill out "due pass as amended."

The appropriation would authorize seven limited-duration positions to administer the program; administrative expenses were described in the amendment as totalling roughly $1.2 million general fund plus smaller other- and federal-fund components. The measure declares an emergency and would be effective on passage; it is repealed on Jan. 2, 2027.

Lawmakers repeatedly pressed for accountability and concrete outcomes. Senator McLean asked, "Do we know how 65,000,000 — how many beds we're gonna get for $65,000,000?" The panel did not supply a precise count in the hearing; Matt Stevenson of the Legislative Fiscal Office told members the specifics could be provided to the committee later. Several members demanded clearer performance metrics and a plan for measuring results. Senator McLean said, "There will be a day where we'll say, what did we get for that $65,000,000?" Senator Pankaj and Co-Chair Campos said the committee and subcommittee chairs have repeatedly pushed OHA for outcomes and metrics and would continue to press for results; Campos noted OHA developed a public bed board that tracks openings and closures.

Supporters said the funds are intended to increase secure residential treatment beds and improve throughput from the State Hospital by creating step-down capacity, arguing the investment addresses bottlenecks in the behavioral-health continuum. Speakers emphasized that building capacity requires time and money and that the state's substance‑use crisis has increased complexity of need. Opponents or skeptics said they would vote "no" unless the agency could demonstrate better oversight; Senator Juraj argued the Department of Administrative Services might provide stronger oversight alternatives and asked for cost‑benefit analysis.

The subcommittee report includes appropriations language and the scope for the residential behavioral health capacity program; it requires OHA to administer grants to develop facilities and authorizes limited-duration administrative positions. The measure was reported out "due pass as amended." The transcript records members voting and the chair declaring the motion passed; a roll-call tally is not recorded in the work‑session excerpt.

Next steps: OHA and Legislative Fiscal Office were asked to provide specifics to the committee on bed counts and expected throughput; the bill moves forward with the subcommittee's due‑pass recommendation and will be considered further in Ways and Means and on the House floor.